Olympic viewers only just realising why NBA fans are 'hating' on 100m champion Noah Lyles as video resurfaces
Fans remembered what Noah Lyles said about the NBA following his gold-medal performance in the men's 100m final at the Olympics.
An old video of Noah Lyles slamming the NBA has resurfaced on social media after he won gold in the men's 100m final.
Lyles beat Jamaica's Kishane Thompson by the finest of margins secure to secure gold in the men's 100m final at the 2024 Olympics.
That's despite Thompson's foot crossing the finish line first.
The US sprint star took to X after his dramatic victory in Paris as he shared a powerful message.
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And footage of him taking aim at the NBA also resurfaced on social media.
Speaking at the end of the World Championships in August 2023, Lyle criticised the NBA's notion of branding its winners as 'world champions'.
He exclaimed: "You know the thing that hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have 'world champion' on their head."
The track athlete added: "World champion of what? The United States? Don't get me wrong, I love the U.S. at times, but that ain't the world... We are the world."
The clip of Lyles poking fun at the NBA resurfaced after his gold-medal winning performance at the Stade de France and got Olympic viewers talking on social media.
Referencing the clip of Lyles, one X user wrote: "Noah Lyles winning just keeps reminding the USA basketball team that this exists."
A second tweeted: "Noah Lyles needs to wear the gold medal to NBA games like Kurt Angle."
A third added: "Wait, NBA fans are mad because Noah Lyles said that NBA Champions aren’t the 'World Champs?' STILL?! The man was right. The NBA is the best basketball league in the world, but it’s not the only one at ALL. It’s not like the NFL."
The US basketball team, which includes the like LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, will be hoping to emulate Lyles' achievement by winning gold in their event.
Topics: Olympics, NBA, Basketball
Nasir Jabbar